Monroe, IA
Monroe, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Monroe lands at the 47th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,190 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Monroe's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
Monroe's building exposure, zone by zone
84.5% of Monroe's 1,190 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 15.5% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Monroe ranks
Compare Monroe's two percentiles: 65th within Iowa, only 47th nationally — a gap of 18 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Monroe ranks 16,570 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,705 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 354 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Monroe's elevated rating (47th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 84.5% of Monroe outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Monroe's figures come from
Monroe's 47th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Monroe's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.